I've not heard anything about that. This may be a case of Amazon jumping the gun - it has happened before. The release date suggests a Christmas present type item such as the diaries etc. I guess we will have to wait and see.

I wonder if this book will have a railway connection. There is a book by George Bradshaw of railway journeys that has been used as the basis for Michael Portillo's TV series (I haven't seen it myself) called Bradshaw's Handbook 1863.

It seems that Bradshaw was something of an early railway fanatic, who published books of railway timetables as well as guide books on various railways both in the UK and abroad. I wouldn't be at all surprised if this is a tie in book for Raising Steam.

I think you've hit the nail on the proverbial Tony. The Bradshaw's TV series's quite interesting as they visit all the old landmarks and places of interest circa the late 1800s so in a way it's also a social history document as well as looking at the 'golden age of steam'. Even with Michael Portillo presenting it

"Some men see things as they are and ask why. Others dream things that never were and ask why not.” George Bernard Shaw

Sharlene reminded me of Mrs Bradshaw who appears in Raising Steam. The lady who decided to travel on the railways and write about the places it went to. I hadn't heard of Bradshaw (of Round World) until today, but now I'm more convinced than ever what this book will be about.

George Bradshaw produced his railway guide from 1839 onwards, it was the first ever national guide to a railway network and continued in print updated every year until 1961. The early guides are very collectable and as stated above have been used by the BBC as the basis of a series of programmes looking at the changes that have occured in Britain and across Europe in the last 100 years. In Victorian England it would be normal to have a copy of Bradshaw if you needed to get anywhere by train (or in later editions ferry) as it was the only place you could get the details of what train went where and when.

The Bradshaw in Raising Steam is a clear reference to George as she is doing exactly what he set out to do, that is explaining where to go, why to go there and most importantly how to get there.

My guess is that this will be the third of the Pearson books, tied into Discworld and with the Pratchett name on the cover but with very little actually produced by him inside.

I would love to know who Pterry is spoofing here ... It's definitely something that has noble antecedents.

When I did my OU degree a few years ago, we had to do a Caryl Churchill play called Top Girls, which includes a scene where 7 great independent women from history (or fiction) appear at a dinner party and exchange their life stories. One of whom was Isabella Bird - who was a 19th century explorer and writer, who went to America and Japan - the first white woman to meet the Emperor of Japan, it is said.

I wonder if Mrs Bradshaw might have a bit of Miss Bird's "morphic resonance".

George Bradshaw was a Victorian gentleman travel journalist who put together a guide to the railways and tourist trails around the UK and some of Europe so yet again Terry's huge reading appetite found a precedent he could use on Roundworld

"Some men see things as they are and ask why. Others dream things that never were and ask why not.” George Bernard Shaw